Lifestyles

“If at some point you don’t ask yourself, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ then you’re not doing it right.” This quote from Roland Gau is one that we should try to remember each day. Stepping outside of your comfort zone can help you learn so much about yourself and make you realize things you didn’t know before.

If you don’t try something new, you won’t know if you like it or not; so why not give it a shot? When stepping outside of your comfort zone there are so many opportunities for growth.

Everyone can relate to being scared to do something for the first time, but most of the time, after you do it, the activity becomes much less daunting and possibly exciting.

There are many ways to put yourself into situations where you will be forced to step outside that comfort zone. Maybe you decide to go with an extreme and go skydiving during your summer vacation. Or maybe you decide to put yourself out there and reach out to people you normally wouldn’t talk to in your classes.

A big fear that many people have is public speaking. Public speaking is something that many people do not feel comfortable doing, especially in front of a large audience. However, it may get easier with practice.

Through schooling, public speaking is something required for students to learn. Communicating effectively is an important skill to help us move outside of our comfort zone, especially if we are able to vocalize how we feel about new and unnerving situations.

Whether we realize it or not, we public speak more often than we would probably like.

Getting up in front of your entire class and speaking for the first time can be very scary for many people, but once you do it a few times, the process becomes much easier.

Some students may even say that going first to present a project is a scary task, but it gets the job done quickly.

Michael Phillips-Anderson, Ph.D., a professor of public speaking, stated, “It’s good to challenge ourselves. If we only do the things we know we can do, we will be bored and won’t have a chance to grow.”

Public speaking is a crucial part of how we can navigate through society, and it is important that we all take a leap of faith and get used to doing this.

Although public speaking is just one example of why it is important to step outside your boundaries, there are so many more that are incorporated into our daily lives.

By setting manageable goals for ourselves, we can build up the tolerance for smaller tasks that help prepare us for the larger tasks that give us the most anxiety.

Aside from personal goals, working outside of a professional comfort zone is an idea that is equally as important. The idea of advancement is something we talk about often not only in our daily lives, but is also important in the workplace.

We have ambitions for ourselves, and those ambitions could include trying to get a higher position within your workplace or interviewing for a new job because you are tired of your current one.

We want to advance and separate ourselves as professionals in our field. In order to do that, we need to step outside our comfort zone and demonstrate our capabilities.

Interviewing can be a frightening process but to reach our goals, it’s something we must go through.

If we never try then we will never know what the outcome could have been. Colleen Moretti, a junior communication student, said, “It’s important to step outside of your comfort zone because if you don’t you will never know what your passions are in life. By doing things we aren’t necessarily comfortable with we learn so much about ourselves.”

These new experiences and opportunities can shape the person that you become.

Who doesn’t like to have fun? By stepping outside of your comfort zone you might find a hobby that you absolutely love.

Trying new hobbies such as a new sport can make you ask yourself, “What did I do before I started playing basketball?”

Along with fidning a hobby you love, stepping outside of your comfort zone can introduce you to experiences that you may not have been able to experience otherwise and help you realize the importance of pushing yourself forward.

Madison Urraro, a junior social work student, said, “Stepping outside of your comfort zone is so important because it’s the only way you will really be able to find out what type of person you are and the different things you are capable of in life.”

Urraro continued, “Especially in college, it’s a time that you can explore new talents or experiences that will make you try something different and see what type of person you are capable of becoming.”

Within any new environment, it is important to adapt and branch out.

Taking the first step outside our comfort zone can be difficult but is definitely worth it.